The Purpose of a Mojyo
by babywhale3378
Summary: As Tomoko begins to question her future outside of highschool, a strange event occurs: a mysterious person takes a risk for her sake, and no one seems to know exactly who this person is. This, and a series of other strange occurrences will lead Tomoko on a passionate journey of self-reflection and purpose-with the same elements of cringe-inducing Tomoko we have always loved.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: I'm still unpopular

"Are these youthful days finally coming to an end?"

Dangerous, terrifying thoughts raced through Tomoko's lazy mind. Both thoughts of the future and regrets of the past haunted her like spirits as she scratched desperately at the coffin in which her ambition had been lain to rest so many years prior.

But ambition, sadly, remained dead, and would remain so. Even in her last days of high school, Tomoko had still remained undecided as to which direction she would go in life. Teacher, doctor, salesperson, and shopkeeper all reeked of effort, labor and early mornings—of which Tomoko could never tolerate. And her childhood dream of "arms-dealer" seemed to be a bit out of reach—considering she had still never even seen a real gun, let alone fired or owned one.

"I guess that leaves me with…" Tomoko pondered, her head facedown on her desk. "A porn artist. Or maybe a housewife." She chuckled. "As if anyone would have me."

"Miss Kuroki!" the teacher suddenly scolded. Tomoko sat up in panic.

"What?!" she cried. The class snickered

"Why don't you try to solve the problem on the board—considering you know this material so well that you can afford to sleep through my lectures."

"I-I-I…" she stuttered. Panic began to set in. Her hand shook—slowly at first, but then rapidly. Her chest tightened up.

"What is the answer, Kuroki?"

"I-I…" she looked down at her notebook. Her eyes began to water. Her social anxiety burned a hole in her very being—and she wished nothing more than to alleviate the pain of the experience with some much-needed solitude. Trapped, she began to feel light-headed.

"I-I just haven't worked it all out yet," she stammered. The teacher raised an eyebrow.

"Then work it out," he said. The class suddenly looked away from her, as she began to awkwardly scribble out some equations. Tears fell.

However, suddenly, a loud noise was heard just outside the hallway. It was as though a long plank of wood had been dropped, and had slapped the tile floor violently. Everyone in the room jumped.

The teacher went to investigate—and no sooner did the person behind her stand up and leave a folded piece of notebook paper on her desk. Since the figure sat in the back seat closest to the wall, by the time Tomoko turned to see who it was, the person was already gone.

The teacher came in, a bit confused.

"Who's chemistry book is this?" he said, holding it up. "It looks like it may have fallen out of someone's bag when they were walking."

Tomoko grabbed the note, and quietly opened it under her desk.

 _Rate laws are easy. The answer is k[A]_ _2_ _[B]_ _1_

 _Pay attention next time, Miss Kuroki._

She read the note once more, unable to believe her eyes. _Who was this person? How did they know I was struggling so badly? Did they make that distraction for me?_

"It's mine," she heard one of the students say. She looked to the front of the classroom, where she saw a boy with long, shaggy black hair accepting the book. His eyes were covered, and his complexion was paler than even hers.

"How did you manage to drop this all the way in the middle of the hallway in the middle of class?"

The boy remained silent.

"Thank you," he finally said, politely bowing. Tomoko's heart palpitated as he took his seat behind her. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed him closing the second door of the classroom. _Did he throw his book out there so he could give me the answer?!_

"Miss Kuroki," the instructor said. "Do you have an answer or not?"

"Um…um…k[A]2[B]1?" she said, reading directly from the note.

The instructor cocked his head at her.

"Well, Miss Kuroki, it seems as though I owe you an apology for calling you out. That was a very difficult problem you just solved."

Stares rolled in once more—this time, of confusion.

"Th-Thank you." She replied.

Feeling the pressure alleviate, Tomoko began to assess the damage. She realized that her nails had cut deep into her palms, and she was soaked in perspiration. In addition, she had slightly—thankfully unnoticeably—urinated herself in fear.

As the class ended, and the students got out for lunch, she turned to see who this mystery person was—but there was no one in the chair. The door to the hallway was opened, and the person's backpack was there. But he wasn't.

Tomoko sat down and began to eat her lunch—alone as usual. As she did, she overheard conversations about the "Chem class event".

 _"_ _Who was that guy?"_

 _"_ _I feel bad I don't know his name. He's been in our class since we were first-years."_

 _"_ _No way—was he that kid who used to be fat and ugly?"_

 _"_ _I think so. But he looks better now."_

 _"_ _I think he's kind of creepy."_

 _"_ _No, he's cute…in his own sort of way."_

 _"_ _Is he that guy who reads all the time in the library—the one who reads really weird books and stuff?"_

 _"_ _Yeah that's him."_

 _"_ _I thought he was a creep too."_

 _"_ _Doesn't he spar with the martial arts club too?"_

 _"_ _Wait is he that guy who knocked out Shingo?"_

 _"_ _That was him!?"_

Tomoko could barely stomach her food as she listened—unsure of whose voice belonged to whom—and even less sure of the authenticity of their words. Through it all, she knew that at any given time, several people were looking her way, expecting some sort of explanation. She wasn't sure what parts they saw, and what parts they didn't. Truly, she was just as confused as they were.

Tomoko snapped the lid shut on her lunch and shook her head. The room went silent for a moment, anticipating her movement, then returned to normal.

The rest of the day went by terribly slow. Tomoko received stares and whispers the entire day—somehow the news had spread quickly that "that weird kid that beat up Shingo saved that weird girl in Chem class". Tomoko did her best to ignore them as she attended her remaining classes.

The bells eventually rang, signifying the beginning of Christmas break: a time for most to play karaoke and eat food and be with their families—but for Tomoko, a time to sleep and play videogames.

As Tomoko exited the building—her face thoroughly immersed in her cell-phone—a cold breeze blew through her. She shuddered, and pulled her arms closer to her body, lowering her phone for a fateful second just long enough so that her unfortunate eye would catch a tall figure. She only caught the glimpse of his eye before he was out of sight.

Tomoko stood, dumbfounded. It would be a long while before she saw him again. But who was he? Why did he save her? There were so many questions—and right before break too…

Surely, the anticipation would destroy her.

 _Diary of a Mojyo: Dec 21_

 _Dear diary,_

 _Today, a really strange thing happened. A guy—a real one this time—saved me in Chemistry class. I think he threw his book out into the hallway to make a distraction, then he wrote me the correct answer. I'm super confused…I don't even know him._

 _Maybe I'll tell Yuu and Komi about this, and see what they think—if they even believe me._

 _The anticipation is going to kill me I think._

 _Anyways, I'm off for break now. I suppose that I should try to relax a little bit. I'm so tired after all of this work._

 _Goodnight._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Luckily by the end of break, it seemed as though nearly everyone had forgotten the incident. A breakup between the school's second hottest couple had done a great job at returning Tomoko to social nonexistence.

Tomoko, however, had nervously anticipated her return to school. Whilst she was not entirely enthusiastic about a potential conversation with a stranger, she absolutely needed to know. She couldn't stand the wait any longer. The anticipation had indeed, nearly killed her.

Ten minutes before the bell rang for Chemistry class, she sat in her chair with a straight back and wide eyes. Practically shaking with nervousness, she watched the minutes tick by at an extremely slow pace.

 _Five minutes left. But then again, it's class. Couldn't he come in at any ti—_

The easily recognizable sound of someone taking their seat echoed from behind her. It was too late.

 _If I turn around, he'll know I was looking. But is it rude to not thank him? Does he even remember?_

Tomoko felt a tap on her shoulder, making her jump and squeak.

"Hey." A male voice.

Tomoko turned around, her face white with social agony. But to her surprise, no mysterious figure loomed behind her. Rather, a slim, light-haired individual sat, his eyes looking away in embarrassment. Somewhere in taking in the image, Tomoko managed the response, "y-yes?"

"I…er…um," he stuttered. "You're good at chemistry, right?"

Tomoko blanked. She was just realizing how handsome this person was. He had sparkling blue eyes, and magnificent shining hair. His pale, soft complexion looked as though you could cut it with a butter knife—and it was hard to believe that he didn't bruise her with his large, masculine hands. She felt like she was living in a dating sim.

"I don't know" she finally muttered, her voice quaking.

"You got that one right before break." He said. "My parents said I need to get a tutor since I nearly failed last semester. But I…I don't have too many intelligent friends, and…" he mumbled off until the remainder of the sentence became inaudible.

"I-I.." Tomoko stuttered frantically. "I'm not a very good tutor,"

The boy looked terribly disappointed.

"Okay," he said. "Sorry to bother you,"

As the boy took his seat, an overwhelming guilt overtook Tomoko, and right before he took his seat, Tomoko called out to him-somewhat embarrassingly.

"But I'll still help you! You can meet me at the library this afternoon."

After the words had left her lips, the gravity of the mistake she had just made settled in. _What have I done_.

The boy, however, lightened up emotionally, but turned a dark shade of red physically.

"Thank you,"

Just then, another note came onto her desk. At some point, the mysterious boy had returned. Another weight of despair—far larger this time—fell on her psyche. She went pale, and her mouth trembled.

She turned and looked at the person behind her, barely able to keep her tears in. But somehow, the image she had portrayed of this dark, edgy person was immediately replaced by something far more realistic. In fact, he seemed to be a geek—a nerd, really. His icy eyes were covered by a pair of glasses—of which she hadn't noticed before—and he seemed to have slight acne scars. She felt a bit relieved, but terrified nevertheless. It was obvious from his looks (if not from the fact that he was able to solve the harder chemistry problem) that he was far smarter than she was. And judgment by superior people had always been Tomoko's bane.

As she turned away, she muttered a short "hi."

 _Dare I open the note? What if it's a confession? Or a reprimanding? Or…an invitation to…_

She shook her head, and opened the note.

 _You don't know enough about Chemistry to teach Makoto anything_

He was onto her. This was a tragedy. She flipped the note over.

 _But I can help you._

 _Aizaku—(626) 483- 6***_

At this point, there was no real purpose for Tomoko staying for the lecture. The entire time, she thought up ways of escaping embarrassment. But there didn't seem to be a way out. The only option was to meet with this guy—this mysterious, note-writing geek—and ask him for help.

He would have to save her once more.

The first text sent was overly formal.

"Hello. This is Tomoko Kuroki from Chemistry class. I would like to request your assistance in Chemistry."

Tomoko decided to text him between classes. She didn't expect a response, really. She just needed to make the move first. Plus, she needed to meet with this guy as soon as possible—since she would be expected to know some of her stuff for the evening's tutoring session.

For two hours of English literature, she waited in terrible anticipation. But during lunch, a response came back.

"I can help you. Are you free now?"

 _NOW?!_

Tomoko nearly vomited in shock. She was not ready for this.

"I'm a little busy right now." She responded.

"Do you have a class after this?" he asked.**

She didn't.

"Then meet me in an hour in front of the library."

Tomoko had no choice but to agree.

She couldn't finish her lunch from the nerves. So for the next fifty minutes, she sat in mental agony, trying to distract herself with manga. It would not prove effective.

Yet when the time came for her to go, she was more than ready—or better yet, as ready as she could be. She was still terrified beyond understanding.

 _What does this creep want from me? And what does that other bishonen want? What am I doing interacting with so many people?! This is madness!_

As Tomoko was walking, she felt another presence walking beside her. It was him. Neither of them said a word to each other, although Tomoko could already feel herself sweating. She felt as though she were in some reenactment of a violent murder show. She could practically hear the narrator now: "Tomoko Kuroki never expected her first Chemistry lesson…(a knife sound effect, and a flash forward to her screaming in pain)…would be her last."

They both reached the library, and he silently held the door open for her. She thanked him as best as she could, and walked in. He followed behind her.

The two sat down. The only other person in the room was the librarian, who had an obstructed view of them.

"Miss Kuroki," he smiled. "My name is Aizaku. It looks like I'm your dedicated bookworm today."

An edge was lifted, but Tomoko was still uneasy. Aizaku's voice was warm and smooth—unlike his appearance. She could tell that he was the kind of guy who could convince anyone that anything were true.

"N-nice to meet you." She said.

"Now it seems to me as though you've made a poor commitment to Makoto. I know you need help in chemistry."

Tomoko went red. His words were cruel and raw, but strangely kind.

"But I know that you're smart."

Tomoko looked up in shock. Her eyes widened, and she went even darker red.

 _Is this flattery?_

"You will succeed, Tomoko." He said. "but I think you might need me to help you."

**(Due to the newly implemented "block scheduling", where students take long classes 2/3 times weekly rather than short classes every day, this is a possibility).

Tomoko looked down, refusing the entire conversation to look towards him at all.

"You don't need to lie to me. I just want to learn enough to avoid—"

"Shut up," Aizaku said.  
Her sullen green eyes shot open, and darted up and directly at him in surprise.

"You are a fool to limit your own capabilities," he said in a soft, stern voice. Chills ran down Tomoko's spine. _How can he believe in me if he barely knows me?_

"Trust me," he said, flashing his emerald eyes at her. "we will succeed together."

Somehow, despite all of her apprehension, she knew he would be right.


	3. Chapter 3

"And then you just use PV=nRT to solve for mols,"

"Wow, it's really that simple? Thank you so much Tomoko,"

Tomoko smiled. she was surprised at how easy Chemistry had come to her. Makoto's insanely attractive physique hadn't even phased her when she was teaching him. Her thoughts wandered to Aizaku, who had taught her everything she had just taught Makoto.

 _I…I really am succeeding. Just like he said._

The bells rang, and Makoto and Tomoko began to pack up.  
"Thank you so much, Kuroki. I think I'll be able to pass this upcoming test thanks to you,"

Tomoko blushed—since there was no more work to be done, her mind recognized once more who she had been talking to. Somehow she knew, despite the fact that she hid underneath her hair, that his eyes were sparkling as he spoke.  
"Where are you headed?"  
"H-home," she muttered, red-faced.  
"Oh that's right," Makoto said. "You take the westbound train, right?"

"R-right…"

"My house is that way too. Do you mind if we walk together?"

Tomoko's heart dropped. _I barely know him! What is he trying to do?!  
_ "Um…okay," she said, unable to resist. She couldn't possibly look at him right now. His smile would probably make her moan.

By the time the two reached the train, very few words had been spoken. When they got on the train, Makoto let Tomoko take a seat while he stood. It would have been a polite gesture that she would have greatly welcomed—if the train would have been less packed. As Tomoko took her seat, she realized the terrible predicament she had just gotten herself into. It was, in many ways, more terrifying than the naginata/spear rape she had told Yuu-tan about.

As she sat, her face was mere inches away from Makoto's body—particularly his lower half. The sexual discomfort it put her in was astounding.

 _It's so close. It's like I'm performing fellatio on him. There's no way he could have done this on purpose, right? Is he a pervert!?_

Makoto was so close that Tomoko could smell his soap.

Tomoko knew she had to look away before things got out of hand—or before he noticed how transfixed she was. But the people all around her seemed to push her towards him further. It was as though she were in some sort of bad dream. She looked away as best as she could, but inevitably, she looked up towards his face to see if he had noticed.

He was looking away, his face _dark_ red.

 _He had to have noticed! Why is he so red?!_

As people began to get off the train, Tomoko began to feel more and more tense. She had to talk to him at some point—and she knew that it would be awkward. Every time she bothered to look up towards him, he never made eye contact, and remained dark red.

Her stop was next.  
"I-I-I" she tried. Makoto looked toward her this time. Tomoko tried to fight back tears and arousal—a painful combination.

"I-I have to get off," she said—then immediately realized that what she said was a minor innuendo. Luckily, he didn't notice.

"Me too,"

Tomoko's heart lurched. _Damn it! What did I do to deserve this!? Did I kill people in my past life?!_

As the two left the station, Tomoko felt as though she had just ran a marathon. Her entire body had remained tense the entire ride—and her mind was exhausted from sexual repression. When she got home…she'd have work to do.

"Thanks for the homework help," Makoto said, casting aside the awkward encounter. "I think I'll be much better off now."

"Yeah," Tomoko said shyly.

"Tomoko, can I ask you a question?"

Tomoko knew from playing so many Otome games what was coming next.

"S-s-s-sure." She mumbled.

"Do you have…a…"

 _Please don't say boyfriend. Please don't ask me about that._ Tomoko's mind raced, as did her heart.

"Do you have plans this Friday?" he finally said.

Tomoko nearly collapsed. She gasped, gagged and staggered. Her body felt extremely heavy, and her heart nearly flopped out of her chest. _This is too much. Just last week I was more alone than ever and now this?!_

"Are you okay, Tomoko?" he asked, stopping her.  
"What? Me! Yeah I'm great!" she replied, before actually falling to the ground.

"Tomoko!" he cried, running to her.

Lying on the ground unconscious, she found a bit of rest from the stress of the day. _If only guys could understand how much loneliness can affect a girl like me, they'd take things a bit slower._

Tomoko woke up in an unfamiliar house, with Makoto standing above her. She was lying down on a bed—and she was extremely hot for some reason.

"Are you waking up?" Makoto said. "You passed out from exhaustion. Did you work too hard in P.E. today?"

Tomoko's head spun.

"Makoto!" she heard a voice. "Is she awake yet?"

"Yeah, she's up." He called back.

Tomoko closed her eyes momentarily, as Makoto offered her a bottle of pocari sweat. She accepted.

She heard footsteps. She opened her eyes, and turned to her right to see a familiar figure. He had glasses on, and such shaggy hair—Tomoko's heart dropped into her feet.

Standing before her, in his casual clothing, holding a thermometer and a washcloth was Aizaku.


	4. Chapter 4

Tomoko nearly passed out again.

"Oh thanks, Aizaku," Makoto said, placing the washcloth on her forehead. "And thanks for letting us stop by. She really wasn't feeling well."

"It's no problem, really. She may have spent too much time in the sun." Aizaku said. His low voice sent chills down Tomoko's spine. "You should really be more careful, Kuroki."

Tomoko groaned and sank deeper into the bed. The room was still spinning a bit, but she was beginning to feel a little more relaxed—but still far from calm.

 _I do feel better now. This bed sure is comfortable—_

Tomoko's eyes shot open.

 _Whose bed is this?!_

In a panicked frenzy, Tomoko thrashed wildly, and kicked at the covers before falling in a tangled mess to the ground. Aizaku and Makoto scrambled and tried—in vain—to help her.

"What's wrong, Tomoko?" Makoto asked.

"I-I-I!" Tomoko could barely get noise out of her throat.  
"She's delusional," Aizaku said. "Help her back to the bed before she can hurt herself more,"

Against every weakened fiber in Tomoko's body, she yielded as they helped her return to her comfortable prison. She felt a moment of pure infancy as Aizaku pulled the covers over her. When she lied her head down on the pillow, she realized she was excessively perspiring from panic.

"Drink up," Aizaku said, handing her the Pocari's Sweat. "I'm going to call your mother,"

Tomoko couldn't handle this anymore. She tried to tell him to stop—and that she was really okay—but Makoto kept her from working herself up. She heard the buttons on the phone being pushed—to her, sounding like sledgehammers striking stone. The anxiety was paralyzing. Overwhelming.

"Yes, Mrs. Kuroki?" Aizaku said.  
 _Please, someone end my life._

"Yes, this is her classmate. She collapsed on her way home today. It looks like she worked herself too hard."

 _Please God, just kill me now._

"You aren't home? Okay,"

 _Oh God._

"You can come by at six?"  
Every one of Aizaku's words seemed to be a cruel joke.

"Okay, I'll let her know…. You're welcome. Absolutely..."

The phone hit the receptor with a 'clunk'. Aizaku walked in to the bedroom and set her phone on the desk.

"Tomoko, your mom is in the city right now. She won't be available until around six. You're welcome to stay here, if you'd like."

Tomoko, in an awkward mixture of groaning and a fake smile, nodded.

"T….Thank you,"

Aizaku nodded.

"Do you have any homework you can do while you're—"

"Just let her rest, Makoto," Aizaku kindly interrupted. "Here, I'll shut off the light for you. Tell me if you need anything, alright?"

Tomoko nodded as the two boys walked out of the room, shutting the door gently behind them.

 _This is bad. This is so bad._

Tomoko was starting to think straight once again. She still was shaking under the sheets, but she was beginning to calm down. She took a few deep breaths, and—as it had done a million times before—solitude helped her regain a sense of reality.

The covers were far too hot on her overheated body. But when she pushed the covers off of her body and stood up, she immediately regretted her action. Tomoko was not wearing her uniform anymore. She was only wearing her tights and undershirt.

 _Wh…what am I….they must have taken it off to cool me down—WAIT. THEY DID WHAT?!_

Tomoko felt perhaps the most embarrassed she had ever felt in her entire life. She covered her body up with her hands—despite no one being present. _I need to find something more concealing._

But her uniformwas nowhere to be found. There was another option, of course—the closet. Her eyes became pinpricks as she thought of wearing Aizaku's clothing. But what choice did she have?

With a shaking hand, she reached out and opened the closet door. The racks of the step-in closet were lined with dozens of shirts and pants. She felt extremely dirty in a boy's closet—but she repressed her sexual excitement with every fiber of her being.

The smell of Aizaku was strong in the dark closet. There were no lights in the room, so she reached blindly for a shirt—failing three times and grabbing pants. She relocated and succeeded on her fourth try. As she tried slipping on the gigantic shirt, she lost her footing, and stumbled a bit. Her foot landed on something soft—and got caught in it.

 _What?_

She stumbled, and fell out of the closet onto the floor, her feet high up in the air. She reached for the lamp next to the bed—and once more regretted her decision. Wrapped around her foot was a pair of men's boxers.

The scream that followed was heard throughout the whole neighborhood—causing a few dogs to bark.

Aizaku and Makoto rushed in, fearing the worse. But since Tomoko was still lying on the ground—still scantily clad in tights and a t-shirt, along with her embarrassed, red face—they recoiled in embarrassment, and hid her from their views. Tomoko scrambled to the bed and pulled the covers tightly around her body to conceal her body.

"We didn't see anything, we swear!" Makoto said.

"Really, he isn't lying! Not even a glimpse!" Aizaku added in.  
Tomoko was silent. Her mind was broken. Standing, but still holding onto the covers, her messed up black hair covered her eyes. She was grateful that her hair was so long—because she didn't want them to know how badly she was crying under it.

 _This is why I'm not meant to be popular. At least….at least I got to know a couple of people before totally embarrassing myself and ruining it all…_

"Tomoko," Makoto said, coming closer. "It's okay,"

Somehow, he could tell that she was crying. Aizaku remained silent, unsure of what to say. He was still blushing, and a trickle of blood hung on his nose.

"I'm sorry," she finally said. The two looked to her.

"Sorry?" they asked almost in unison.

"For all the trouble I've caused. For taking up your time, for taking your drinks, and messing up your closet…I'm sorry." Tomoko's voice was choked up and sorrowful—and without a stutter.

"Tomo—"

"Don't say anything…" she said. "You don't have to say anymore."

Silence passed between the three people.

"You weren't a hassle." Aizaku finally said.  
Tomoko's eyes shot up, tears still streaking her face.

"In fact…"

Tears ran further and faster across Tomoko's face.

"…you're actually super funny, Tomoko," Aizaku said, pushing up his glasses with a smile.

"Ha! Yeah, he's right," Makoto added in. "Clumsy, but in a cute way—moe!"

Tomoko's anxiety didn't die down after hearing this, but she felt…somehow…a feeling that she had never felt before. It was one of acceptance—friendship. She blushed.

"We should be the ones to apologize to you, right Makoto? We should have asked your permission before stripping you down."

"But you had a really bad fever, so we felt justified." Makoto added.

"I…it's okay," Tomoko sighed.

"How about when you feel all better, we'll take you out somewhere to make it up to you—to pay you back."

Social anxiety returned—reminding her she wasn't dreaming.

".….okay," she said, nodding.

On the ride home, Tomoko looked down at the blankets that she still had wrapped around her. Her mom probably had a lot of questions—but could she answer truthfully? No—no one could ever know what happened there. It was a secret between the three—and somehow, she was sure that they all understood that.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

Tomoko waved from the window of the car as her mom began to drive away. Makoto and Aizaku waved, then went back to the house.

"Well I'm glad that she's okay," Aizaku said, flopping onto the sofa. "Taking care of her was exhausting."

"Yeah," Makoto said, falling next to him. "She's a piece of work,"

Makoto looked over to Aizaku.

"You're really red. Maybe you overworked yourself helping her," he said.

"Yeah…" Aizaku said softly. "..right…I hope she's okay,"

"Since when do you show emotions, Aizaku?" Makoto asked. "Usually you're completely stoic and calm—but just then, you looked…sort of…"

"Looked like what?" Aizaku asked, now returning to his normal, near emotionless self.

"You looked panicked…sort of like a parent. I've never seen you act like that before."

Aizaku looked out the window, and exhaled.

"I don't know," he said, shrugging. "She kind of reminds me of a child, now that you mention it."

"Are you alright?" Makoto asked.  
"Yeah," Aizaku said, sighing. "Yeah, I'm good."

The next day at school, tests were passed back. Tomoko could feel her heart thrashing in her chest. The paper floated onto her desk.

"An 84?" her heart sunk. She had expected higher. A quick glance through the questions she missed showed her what her problem was: test anxiety. It was always her bane.

 _Oh well. I did a lot better than usual, that's for sure._

As she put her test into her bag, Makoto came and sat next to her, bringing with him a harem of female classmates. Tomoko felt a wave of panic come over her when she was faced with the strangers.

"Tomoko! Thank you so much! I did so much better on this than I did last semester." Makoto was red from excitement.

"Wait," one of the girls said. She was a tall girl with artificially blonde waist-length hair. "This is the girl that taught you all of this?"

"Yeah," Makoto said. "That's right. It was Tomoko,"

Tomoko smiled uneasily.

The girls looked at her awkwardly. Tomoko could've sworn she could feel their judgmental eyes piercing her.

"I-I-I'm glad you did alright!" Tomoko finally said. Her voice was barely audible.  
"Right! When the next test gets a bit nearer, I might need you to help me again. Thanks again!"

Tomoko nodded as the group walked away. As she buckled the clasps on her square backpack, she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Congrats," Aizaku said, smiling.

 _Aizaku…_

As he turned and walked away, Tomoko stopped him.  
"You…" she said.

Aizaku's eyebrow rose.  
"You were right." Tomoko said, turning red. "I really was wrong to doubt myself."

He smiled.  
"Never forget that, Tomoko."

For the rest of the day, Tomoko felt an overwhelming sense of peace. It seemed for once, that all was right with the world. She had helped someone succeed, and she was succeeding as well. She had made two friends—two friends who actually liked being around her. All of this had made the normally unbearable solitude quite livable. She felt, for once, like she was beginning to fit in—and it was a truly wonderful feeling.

Tomoko sat down on a bench in the middle of the school courtyard. She sighed. The wind lightly tickled her skin, giving her a few goose-bumps, and sending a light shiver up her spine. The cherry trees in the courtyard were dropping their petals gently to the ground, meanwhile decorating the air with pink.

"I guess this is what high school is all about," she said aloud.

For a moment, she just sat there, enjoying the beauty of the scenery. She was completely alone, but for some reason, her outlook on life had changed so dramatically. She now saw the scene as something wonderful, beautiful, and charming—not cliché. Against her will, she smiled lightly. She felt stupid and ditsy, but she couldn't hold it back. She sighed and laughed a bit to herself under her breath.

Then suddenly, tears.  
The hotness of the tear felt wonderful. Tomoko relished the feeling of the tear as it caressed her cheek, gliding gently into a momentary resting place on her chin. As it fell to the ground, another streaked the other side of her face.

 _Why am I crying?_ She asked herself, patting them away. _I can't stop._

She patted her face more, and covered her face so no one could tell.

Tomoko didn't realize, but the recent events—however interesting and new—had taken a bigger toll on her than she had expected. All of the walls she had built over the years were crumbling down, leaving her raw and gentle soul exposed to the world. Even the littlest beauty—like the falling blossoms—affected her deeply. This peace that she felt was unlike anything she had ever experienced. She wasn't nervous anymore.

 _Is this what it's like to be included?_ She asked herself.

As the sky became darker, an announcement came over the loudspeakers.

 _The school is now closing. Everyone pick up your things and leave the campus"_

Tomoko began her walk home, smiling again. She had her signature blue beats headphones on, but no music playing—she didn't feel like escaping at the moment.

As she walked, she stopped when she saw a snail in her way. But rather than stepping on it or ignoring it, Tomoko bent down to it, and picked it up.

 _You have to be careful, little buddy,_ she said softly. _People won't see you in the dark_.

The snail retreated into its shell as Tomoko placed it gently in a nearby planter.

 _There you go._ She said, her face flushing pink.

By the time Tomoko got home, it was already dark. Her family was just sitting down for dinner when they heard her come home—arousing the suspicion of her mother.

"You're home late, Tomoko," she said.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Tomoko said politely. The family stopped in shock—it was unlike Tomoko to respond in such a way. No more questions were made as the family watched Tomoko's every movement in awe.

"Well…um…" Tomoko's mother muttered. "Welcome home, sweetie."

Tomoko gave her a weird look.  
"Aren't you going to yell at me like you usually do?" Tomoko asked.

"What?! The nerve!" her mom responded. "You had better watch your mouth, Tomoko,"

"What did I say?"

"Er…I…" she started. "Go wash up it's time for dinner,"

"Alright…" Tomoko said warily, walking towards the bathroom.

Tomoko's mother sat down and rubbed the sides of her head for a moment.

"What was that?" Mr. Kuroki asked.

"…she was so polite…" she groaned.

"What's the problem then?" he asked.

"She's up to something. She has to be."

Tomoki sighed.

"What was that? You know something don't you?" she pressured him.

"No," Tomoki said angrily.

"I'm going to go check her room for drugs—"

Tomoko walked in at that moment and sat down.

"Do you need something from my room?" she asked.

"I—I!" she started. "You—"

"Do you want me to serve tonight?" she asked politely. "You look like you have a headache."

"No!" she yelled. "What is this whole act for?! What are you up to?!"

Tomoko sank into her chair in fear.  
"I-I-I don't know what you mean," she murmured.

"Don't lie to me, Tomoko!" she said angrily. "I can see past it!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Tomoko said weakly. "I'm not lying."

Tomoko's mother hit her with her open hand.  
"Tell me!"

"I swear!" Tomoko said, her voice cracking. Tears began to well up in her eyes. Tears began to fall down her red cheek.

Tomoko's mother was taken back. She felt like she had just hit a stranger, not disciplined her daughter.

"Tomoko…" she said, bending down to her. She rubbed her back. "I'm so sorry,"

Tomoko didn't respond.

The rest of the dinner went by awkwardly. Tomoko didn't eat a lot—and when she did, her hand shook nervously. Tomoko's mother was ridden with guilt and remorse.

After dinner, Tomoko retreated to her room. She didn't think much of the incident—it was relatively normal for her mother to hit her when she was disobeying—like that one time she used the vacuum to give herself hickeys. She turned her computer on, and wasted the night away in a mildly funny Internet trans. She fell asleep on her keyboard, her cheek pressing down on the "f" key, writing thousands of "f"s in her internet search bar.

 _Tomoko!_

"What? What's happening?"

 _Ah….don't stop…Tomoko…ah…_

"Am I…" she looked down. "I'm…"

 _Oh Tomoko… I'm not going to last much longer…_

"Ah….it feels so good…"

 _I….I'm…_

Tomoko jolted awake quickly, and hit her head on her computer monitor, knocking it over.

"Goddamn!" she said, rubbing her head. But even before she picked the monitor up, she remembered the dream at once, and in great detail.. She had never had such a sexual dream. It felt so real. So wonderful. She blushed heavily.

 _I must be going crazy._ She thought. _First with the crying yesterday…and now this. I guess it's not that bad though. It did feel pretty good._

Suddenly, however, a disturbing thought came across her mind.

 _Wait…_

 _Who was it?_


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

That entire day at school, Tomoko was sexually aroused. She couldn't help but stare at nearly every guy she saw—making her feel even more perverted, and arousing her even more.

 _I really need to go home and get this out of my system._ She thought. _It's not like I'm going to learn anything…I can't get my mind off of dicks…_

She found herself staring at one of her classmates. She blushed, and sighed a bit, but then shook her head and frowned.

 _What am I a dog in heat?!_ _All these hormones are driving me crazy!_

Despite her determination, her gaze drifted once more.

 _…_ _Oh yeah…_ she thought. _What a nice set of hipbones…._

She chuckled to herself.

"Hey what are you looking at?" a voice said from behind her.

Tomoko gasped loudly in fear. The whole class looked at her.

She turned around in rage.

"Aizaku!" she said angrily. "What the hell was that for?!"

"My bad," he said calmly.

"Goddamn it!" she said, rubbing her head. "Never do that to me again."

"Note taken." Aizaku said, almost robotically.

"You should never scare a girl like that." She said, growing more bold. "Never!"

"I didn't mean to," he said.

"If I want to stare at dicks, then that's my—" Tomoko realized the words that were coming out of her mouth.

Aizaku's eyes widened.

"That's what you were staring at?" he held in his laughter quietly.  
 _Please someone kill me._ Tomoko's face turned dark, dark red. She was still incredibly aroused, but also extremely embarrassed. She felt the room spin. Beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.

"Oh my, Tomoko, are you alright?" he asked.

 _Is this what it feels like to die of embarrassment?_

Tomoko fell in one large clump the floor.

When she woke up, Aizaku was standing over her, next to the nurse.

"Hi Tomoko, are you waking up? You had a panic attack," the nurse said kindly, applying an ice pack to her head. "Don't try to move too much."

She turned to Aizaku.

"Put this on her head when she wakes up more. Don't let her get out of this bed, alright?"

Aizaku nodded. "Alright."

Tomoko moaned as the nurse exited the room.

"My head hurts," she said. The ice pack fell to the side of the bed.

"You hit it when you fell to the ground," Aizaku said, applying it to her head again. "You're pretty accident prone, aren't you?"

She sighed.  
"I won't tell anyone about what you said," he whispered softly.

"Th…Thanks…" she said shyly.

Slowly, Tomoko began to calm down. The warm, soft bed comforted her, easing her of her nerves—and as she began to sink deeper into the blankets, her sexual thoughts slowly faded. She felt extremely sleepy, and quite blissful.

"What time is it?" she asked, yawning.  
"It's five-thirty." Aizaku responded. "Class ended a few hours ago."

Tomoko felt relieved. She attempted to stand up, but her hands were still a bit too weak. Aizaku offered a hand to her, and helped her up out of bed. His hand was warm and soft. She smiled, red-faced, and the two began to walk out of the abandoned school.

The sun was just setting, and the entire sky was painted pink and blue. The trees on the hills above them swayed gently, as the lizards, insects, and small animals began to settle down for the evening.

"Are you going to be okay on your own tonight?" he asked.

"Yeah,"

"I can help you with any homework that you missed, so don't worry about that,"

"Alright," she said, smiling.

Suddenly, Aizaku stopped.  
"What is it?" Tomoko asked.

Aizaku exhaled.

"Tomoko," he said softly. "I can't keep up this charade forever. I have to tell you something."

Tomoko's heart pounded wildly _. What could he mean?_

"Tomoko, all of this homework….I'm not super smart or anything. In fact, I have to study super hard every night just to teach you the basics. I'm not as smart as you might think. In fact, you're far smarter than I am. Initially…I didn't know why I did it…but then I began to see that I did it for you, Tomoko,"

He held her by the forearms. Tomoko's eyes flooded from the sudden influx of emotion. She looked into his shining eyes, overwhelmed.

"I realized, Tomoko," he said, "that I liked you."

Tomoko didn't remember what came next. She remembered feeling weightless—but tormented. She felt amazing—but horrible. Her chest hurt, her head hurt, her eyes burned. She felt herself go limp in his arms.

 _Is this what it feels like to be loved?_ She asked herself. She breathed heavily.

Aizaku held her, and kept her from falling.

"I have to know how you feel, Tomoko," he said.

Sweat built dripped down Tomoko's forehead. Her breathing reached forty breaths a minute. She realized she was having an anxiety attack.

She broke away from Aizaku, and ran as fast as she could. Tears flew from her face, and sobs choked her up. She ran past the train, silently weeping. She ran for several miles—until she got home. Then, she sprinted upstairs, locked herself in her bedroom, curled into a ball, and wept until she fell asleep.

"It's just too much," she kept repeating to herself. "It's just too much"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

Tomoko knew she couldn't go back to school for a while. When her mother came asking what was wrong—or demanding that she go to school—she became aware of her condition, and assumed she was deathly ill, since her appearance had deteriorated so much. Her normally dark eye circles became far darker, her messy hair far messier, and her pale, confused and timid face became…well...paler, more confused, and more timid.

Secluded in her room, she returned to her old, safe habits. She spent all day playing videogames, watching TV, and reading manga. She began to lose interest in the outside world once more. Her heart calloused over once again, and she felt herself grow less and less feeling for the world.

 _Who needs friends anyways? I'm just fine on my own! I don't need them._

But Tomoko knew each moment that all of her thoughts were lies. She wanted to be with Aizaku and Makoto again—but her social anxiety just couldn't handle it. In a few days, once her mom figured out that she wasn't sick, she'd have to return to school…and the thought of what might happened then gave Tomoko a reason to be worried.

"Tomoko!" her mom called out from downstairs. "There's someone here to see you!"

Tomoko froze in fear. Her eyes began to water.

 _Okay. Okay. No need to panic. It could be Yuu-chan or the mailman—_

"It's a boy from school."

Tomoko's heart dropped like a rock.

 _The very sanctity of my home…desecrated. How did he find me?!_

She heard them talking quietly downstairs.

"Tomoko!" her mom called once more.

"Uh…yeah!" Tomoko cried. Her voice was weak and fearful.

"I'm sending him up there, alright?"

Tomoko froze again. Before she could call out "wait!" she heard footsteps.

Then…a knock.

More tears.

Panic.

With an unsteady hand, she opened the door.

It was Aizaku. His glasses reflected the light from the setting sun. He shut the door behind him.

With angry, fearful eyes, she looked up at him, then away.

"What?" she asked abruptly.

"It's just..that you haven't been to school in a few days…"

"So what?!" she asked, anger in her voice. She fought back tears.

"I just…wanted to bring your homework to you. Makoto was going to come too, but… he couldn't—"

Tomoko snatched the homework from his hand, cutting him off.

"You can leave now…" she said.

Aizaku looked at her. Tomoko could tell that he was looking, but she refused to return the gesture—mostly out of fear, but partly out of rebellion.

"Tomoko, I…"

"Don't." she said. She felt like she was an alien in her own skin, for the words she was saying felt like someone else's words. "Don't say any more…"

"But Tomoko—"

"Stop," she said. She felt herself breaking.

"Tomoko I just want to—"

"No!"

"I want to talk to you—"

"Please!" she desperately cried, looking up at him with tears in her eyes. "Aizaku don't you know what saying that kind of stuff does to a girl like me? I've never, _never_ , had a guy talk to me in the way that you did. I've never had a chance to have friends, or succeed in school before you… I've never had a chance…to…"

Aizaku's eyes were full of empathy.

"I've never had a chance to be happy…" she said.

"Tomoko…"

"I can't handle this…" she mumbled, as more tears came to her eyes. "It's just too much for me…"

"Tomoko, you—" he said.

"I'm an idiot, I know!" she cried. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

Just then, he grabbed her arm.  
The world, then, seemed to mute. The wind outside stopped. The room drifted apart.

Tomoko felt her body relax. Her tears still flowed.

Her eyes were open wide.

For a brief moment, she felt his breath tickle her face.

But so very shortly after that, she felt warmth on her mouth.

 _What is this?_

Her heart seemed to beat slowly.

She felt Aizaku's arms wrap around her.

Slowly, she began to understand what she was doing. She felt Aizaku's mouth firmly pressed against hers, in a kiss so life-shattering, that she forgot how miserable she had been just a second before. Her eyes remained widely open in fear.

As their lips parted, a strand of saliva snapped between them.

Tomoko opened her eyes slowly, and met Aizaku's warm gaze. Her bright green eyes shined like emeralds with the glaze of her tears.

Neither one said a word. Tomoko felt her arms wrap around his midsection, and, as more tears fell, they kissed once more.

 _I guess…_

She felt his arms wrap around her gently. His embrace made her hot.

 _I guess this is how it feels… to be loved…_

Almost unconsciously, she tightened around him. She never wanted to let go. She knew that with each passing second, she made her anxiety even worse. But she didn't care. She knew that they'd separate in a second. But she didn't care. All she knew was that for once, she was happy—for once, someone loved her.

She closed her eyes.

Eventually, they backed away from each other. Tomoko's eyes were still flooded, but when she opened them, she saw his face for a second in complete clarity. He was a bit red. She began to notice that she was shaking uncontrollably.

But so was he.

He was just as nervous and shy as she was. But then, why had he kissed her so abruptly?

"Tomoko, I…"

Tomoko was speechless. Here she was, kissing a guy in his arms after years of solitude and loneliness.

"I'm sorry…" he said. "I didn't mean to—"

Tomoko shook her head, cutting him off.

"There's nothing to be sorry about."

"I…" he started.

"It's okay" she said, her voice quaking.

"I just couldn't control myself…" he said.  
Tomoko looked away shyly, then back into his eyes.

"I love you Tomoko,"

 _Love_?

The concept was extremely foreign to her.

"I love you too," she said, out of pure impulse.

There was something powerful, so very powerful about her voice when she replied. Something she had never heard in her own voice. She still shook violently—uncontrollably— in his arms, but she felt braver than she had.

The two leaned in once more... and kissed.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

The next day, Tomoko could barely believe what she had done. Every time she thought of the kiss between her and Aizaku, her heart fluttered, and her face became red (once even, she nearly fainted just thinking about it). Her anxiety had indeed come back, with quite a vengeance—however, for once, she was willing to face them rather than cower. In addition, she had gained a modicum of confidence, which was—of course—a good thing. However, as time would show, Tomoko was not out of the woods yet.

As she was getting ready for school the next day, the doorbell rang. It was early, and Tomoko had just gotten out of the shower. She thought nothing of it—until Hahaoya yelled up the stairs to her:

"Tomoko, it's that boy again."

 _Shit._ Tomoko's eyes became pinpricks.

"He says he wants to walk you to school."

 _SHIT._

"I'll be down in a minute!" Tomoko yelled from the inside of the bathroom. She had just showered, and was dripping wet. She had just turned off the water when her mom called her.

 _What the hell is he doing coming here? And at this time? It's 7:15! Class doesn't start until 8:45 you dumbass!_

Panic.

 _It's okay, I'll be fine. I'm good._ Tomoko said to herself, trying to calm herself down. _I just have to get my—_

Unfortunately for Tomoko, there were no towels hanging on the wall where they usually were. Tomoko's shirking of her responsibilities as a member of the Kuroki household (particularly, her duty to put new towels in the bathroom each week) had finally caught up with her.

"Oh God," she said to herself monotonously, as though she were taking part in a joke.

She began to plan—yet, to no avail. She was upstairs in the bathroom, and the towels were downstairs. If she went to get them, Aizaku would see her—Tomoko shook her head, trying to avoid thinking of that possibility. But if she didn't, and she just waited to air dry, she would keep him waiting for a good while. She couldn't ask her mom, because she was down there with Aizaku, and she couldn't ask Tomoki, because he was at soccer practice.

Suddenly, without much warning, she laughed to herself—at first just a chuckle, then growing, growing until she was hysterical. Naked and wet, she fell to the ground, in embarrassed agony.

 _I've finally lost it._ She thought to herself. She pulled her hands over her head as though she were being pinned by machine gun fire, and continued laughing.

"Tomoko what are you doing up there?" Mrs. Kuroki called to her.

Tomoko became silent.

"Nothing!"

Quickly, Tomoko grabbed her cell phone, and closed all of her…tabs (let's just leave it at that). Immediately, she called Tomoki.

 _Pick up, dammit._ She thought.

"What do you want?" he asked rudely. He was winded.

"Okay, little brother, your sister is in dire straights and needs your help."

"Spit it out already," he said, angrily.

"I will pay you 2000 yen to come back home and bring me a towel."

"Go to hell," he said.

"WAIT DON'T HANG UP!"

"I'm not doing that."

"4000 yen. 4000, that's a lot."

"Why is this important to you? What is the problem?"

"I'll pay 6000 yen if you don't ask questions."

"Whatever." He said.

"Are you going to help me?" she asked desperately.

"What about mom? She'd see that I'm missing practice."

"If she gives you trouble, I'll give you 10000."

"…" Tomoko paused for a minute. "Alright. Just have my money by tonight, got it?"

"Thank you so much Tomoki!" she said, almost crying.

"Whatever."

"Hurry home, alright?" she told him before hanging up.

Tomoki arrived a short while later (after all, the school he went to was not that far from their home). When he arrived and saw Aizaku on their couch talking with his mom, he intuitively knew what was going on here. Somehow, he got a little bit of a kick from it.

When he finally came to the door of the bathroom and handed her the towels, he saw that her entire hand and arm was shaking with embarrassment. He scoffed, turned, and was on his way.

"Easy money," he whispered to himself, satisfied.

"So do you always take 40 minute showers?" Aizaku asked.

"Uh…eh…." Tomoko blushed. "Yep!"

"Doesn't your family get upset that you use all the hot water?"

"Not always!" she said. Neither of them knew what she meant by that response.

"Well I sure hope that we make it on time now."

Tomoko looked at her watch. It was 7:50.

"We should be okay," she said. "The train ride from here is only about a half hour."

"Right." Aizaku said. "But I was hoping to get more time to be with you,"

Immediately, he turned red—as though he hadn't expected himself to say that. Tomoko also became red.

There was no one else on the train—truly a rare occurrence. It was as though fate had organized some way for them to talk in secret. Knowing that their solitude would not last forever, the two began to talk.

"Listen, Tomoko," he said, kindly. "I was thinking about…that moment we had yesterday…"

Tomoko was suddenly overwhelmed with flashbacks of breakup scenes from the Otome's she had played in her past.

"Are you breaking up with me?" she suddenly asked.

Aizaku was shocked at first. Then, he laughed.

"No!" he said. "Quite the opposite, my dear."

He picked up her hands, and looked deeply into her eyes. Tomoko wanted to look away, but she absolutely could not.

She felt herself drawn to him. The two kissed, gently, and parted gingerly.

"Tomoko, what I was actually trying to tell you was that I want to ask you to be my girlfriend."

Tomoko's heart ran violent, throbbing circles in her chest.

"But if you feel like you need more time—" Aizaku began.

"I…" she cut him off.

Tomoko couldn't make words work.

But this time, rather than being upset by her inability to use words, she laughed a small bit, sighed, and looked away.

Then, right as the train's windows filled with the view overlooking the whole town, she threw her arms around his neck, repositioned herself on the uncomfortable train seats so that she was facing him, and kissed him—violently, and clumsily—with an open mouth. Tongue met tongue, and it felt—though honestly not what Tomoko had expected—utterly amazing. She felt his arms go around her midsection—yet this time…this time… _he_ was trembling.

 _So what if I can't speak?_ Tomoko thought to herself. _Is this any less of an answer than one I could make with words?_

And Aizaku knew what her answer was.

The train was stopping soon.

The two parted, but still held hands.

No words needed to be spoken.

All was right with the world.

However, Tomoko's story was not over yet.

(to my readers: please comment! I look for reviews constantly, and they let me know that i have an audience! I'd love to hear what you have to say! Thanks!)


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9.)

 _Time to wake up, wake up!_

"nghh…"

 _Time to wake up, wake up!_

Tomoko reached for her phone, which was just barely within her reach, and shut the alarm off.

The window beside her bed was dark. Raindrops fell in sporadic intervals, decreasing then increasing, then stopping completely, only to resume in full once more. Tomoko loved days like this—firstly for their cinematic aesthetic, and secondly because it gave her an irrefutable excuse to stay inside all day.

Tomoko waltzed downstairs lazily, and poured herself a cup of coffee. It was cold, but she didn't mind. She could tell from the dishes that were left in the sink that everyone else had already had breakfast—and that she was home alone.

Tomoko opened the fridge, and saw that there were some leftovers from the other night—sashimi.

"Meh," she said to herself, opening the box, and eating a piece. She sat upside-down in front of the TV, and watched some terrible anime shows, eating (and sometimes choking, as her body position was somewhat risky to eat food in).

After some time passed, she pulled out her phone and texted Aizaku.

"Hey are you up?"

Shortly after came the reply:

"Yeah, it's 12:30. Were you up playing games all night?"

"Yeah,"

"Shameful."

Tomoko smiled. She had grown to love his playful teasing.

"Well were you thinking about doing anything today? We could hang out or something." He wrote.

"Uh, I'd be okay with that."

"Wait hold on. My mother is hosting today so I can't actually do that."

"Oh whatever," Tomoko wrote, trying to sound nonchalant.

"I could come over to your house maybe?"

Tomoko's heart dropped, and her anxiety set in, growing more and more severe as she ruminated.

 _My room is a mess. I am a mess. What if he saw my 50 pounds of hentai. He'd be disgusted. He'd dump me. The whole school would make fun of me. Every day would be a living nightmare. Pervert Kuroki, they'd call me. My whole high school experience ruined. I'd be too depressed to test. I'd have to drop out. I couldn't get a job. Mom wouldn't let me live here forever. I'd become homeless. I'd have to kill myself to end it all._

Tomoko snapped into reality, and wiped the nervous sweat off of her forehead.

"You know, I'm not sure if that's a good idea,"

"Oh would it be too awkward?"

"Yeah," she said.

"What if I brought Makoto?"

Tomoko realized that she had totally forgotten that Makoto existed.

 _Whatdoidowhatdoido._

"No I wouldn't want to put you through the trouble of picking him up,"

"Are you sure, because I can pick him up—"

"Yes I'm sure," she wrote, trying to be polite.

"Okay then. I'll just come alone."

"Okay," she wrote, before realizing the hole she had just dug for herself.

"Be there in 10," he wrote back.

Panic.

Panic.

PANIC.

Tomoko's eyes became pinpricks, and unwelcome words bounced around in her head like tennis balls in a circular room.

 _Alone. Sexual tension. Boy. ALONE. ALONE! Stuck inside. Nothing to do._

 _Hentai. He sees it. Hentai. Pervert Kuroki!_

Tomoko rushed up to her room and tried her hardest to make everything appear natural. Dripping with sweat, she threw all of her dirty clothing under the bed, and made her bed somewhat nicely. She sprinted into the shower—nearly killing herself in the process—and scrubbed her unclean body aggressively with anything that smelled remotely good.

Suddenly, she began to feel ill.

 _Jeez, I'm so nervous that my stomach feels like I'm totally sick._

Tomoko dried her hair off in a hurry. As she was putting her clothing on, she heard the doorbell ring.

"Coming!" she said, her voice cracking. She checked once more in the mirror—and she noticed how pale and green she looked. _Nerves…_ she said to herself. _Calm down, calm down._

Tomoko opened the door, and noticed that Aizaku was soaking wet.

"Oh, hurry, come in," she said. "I'll get you a towel,"

"Oh thanks," he said, shutting the door. "My umbrella broke last week."

"You should get another one. You don't want to catch a cold or something,"

"You seem to be speaking from experience," he said, laughing.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh wait, are you not sick?" he asked.

"Sick?"

As soon as Tomoko said the word, she became aware of a crippling nausea and a squirming pain in her stomach. She clutched her stomach in pain, and took a knee.

"Tomoko," Aizaku said, coming over to her.

"Oh…shit…" she said, holding in her vomit.

"It's a good thing that I came," he said, petting her hair, and setting her heavy head on his lap. "You're super ill. What happened?"

"I'm not ill…" she said, sweat dripping onto the floor. "I'm not—"

Right as Tomoko was about to say "sick", she vomited—not in any particular direction that she would have liked, but all over Aizaku. A single tear streamed down her face as she wretched—chunks of half-digested, contaminated sashimi spilling all over the floor.

Aizaku didn't move. Tomoko couldn't look up at him. Her whole body shook with nerves.

 _This is it. I've ruined it._

"Well," Aizaku said, half-chuckling. "These clothes are no good now,"

"I'm so…" Tomoko gagged. "So sorry…"

Tomoko's eyes glittered with tears, and her skin—though pale from the illness—began to look like porcelain beside her raven-colored hair. Although a tiny drip of vomit ran down her lip, Aizaku thought at that moment that she was the prettiest girl he had ever seen in his life.

"Tomoko," he said, almost unconsciously. "You're so beautiful."

 _What does he mean?_ Tomoko thought in confusion. _What could that mean?_

Suddenly, even though he was thoroughly doused in vomit, he hugged her.

 _…_ _.I…_

"Tomoko," he whispered into her ear, sending chills up her spine.

 _…_ _..I…._

"There's nothing that you could do to make me not love you."

 _…_ _.even in my filthiness….lowly and wretched…_

"I love you."

With her eyes wide open, tears began to stream down her face like rapids,-two words ruminating in her head:

 _Loved…unconditionally…_

When he finally pulled back, she noticed that Aizaku hadn't even cringed.

The two remained there for a short while—giving Tomoko a chance to recollect herself as much as possible. After a while, Aizaku finally spoke up.

"Now let's get you cleaned up," he said, stroking her hair gently.

"I…I can get you new cloth—"

Tomoko vomited again, this time, all over the floor, cutting her off mid sentence.

"Nonsense," he said. "You need to get cleaned up and go right to bed. Is your mom home?"

"…n…no…" Tomoko said.

"I don't have anything to do today, so I don't mind taking care of you, if you'll have me," he said.

"I don't need you to…" Tomoko said before being overcome by a wave of illness. _Maybe I do…_

After she had showered and gotten into bed, Aizaku put a wet washcloth on her head, and waited on her continually. He didn't let her eat, but he did an amazing job at taking her mind off of the fact that she was horribly food poisoned.

Tomoko was still embarrassed by the whole ordeal, but this time she felt that something was different. She felt somehow less embarrassed by things that should have been super embarrassing—like when your doctor sees you naked. It wasn't as weird as it would normally be. Rather, she felt like her relationship with Aizaku was almost familial.

Tomoko moaned as she woke up from a half-sleep. Aizaku was still there, reading some random book.

 _Why the hell would he bring a book over to a friend's house?_

"Oh, Tomoko, you're awake," he said, folding the book. "How you feeling?"

Tomoko didn't say anything. She just leaned back, and tried to pretend she was asleep. She was so cold—unbearably cold. But she didn't want to tell him.

 _Besides he's busy reading…I wonder where he brought that book from… he didn't bring a backpack…_

Tomoko's eyes shot open wide.

 _WHERE THE HELL DID HE GET THAT BOOK._

Tomoko sat up quickly, and turned to him. The whole movement was so fast that Aizaku actually jolted.

"WHAT ARE YOU READING." Tomoko monotonously said in a mixture of agony and anticipation.

"Oh, its just one of the mangas I found in your—"

Tomoko immediately flopped out of bed and crawled over to him, like a dying zombie reaching for a victim.

"NO NO NO NO NO," she said, grabbing it from his hands.

Sadly, Tomoko's worst fears had already come true. The book he was reading, albeit a non-H manga, was the one she had just put underneath a stack of hentai—meaning that he definitely saw the others before reaching that one.

Tomoko became beet red, and looked down.

 _Shit. I knew this would happen. Pervert Kuroki._

"Tomoko," Aizaku said, kneeling down to her. He helped her get back into bed. She was limp and tiny, like an oversized, overheated doll in silky pajamas.

"I…I…" words wouldn't work for her.

"You're going to kill yourself, Tomoko," he said, putting the washcloth back on her forehead.

"I'm….sorry," she said, barely audible. It was honestly the best she could've done at that point.

Aizaku seemed confused. "For what?"

Tomoko felt for a millisecond that she had gotten off the hook. She said nothing, hoping they would both forget.

"Oh you mean the porn," Aizaku suddenly said.

Tomoko about died right then.

 _Just kill me now_. _Please someone end my life. Why did I leave them out after that whole anxiety attack? The one thing I shouldn't have forgotten…_

"Yeah, I figured you to be more of a Yaoi girl than normal hentai…" he said, going over to her desk.

 _No. Please don't pick them up. Please don't do this._

"Do you want to read these?" he said, picking them up.

 _Of course I do you jackass! But if I say I do, you'll dump me!_

"Those aren't mine," she said, summoning all of her might to help her talk. This was honestly the best effort she could possibly have done.

Aizaku turned to her.

"Listen, Tomo," he said. This was the first time he had called her by that name. He walked over to her, where she covered up half of her face like a child who knew a punishment was coming. Aizaku couldn't hear her, but she let out a slow, high pitched, fearful whine.

"It doesn't bother me that you read that kind of stuff," he said, petting her hair almost seductively.

Tomoko's heart was beating so hard that it ached.

"In fact," he said. "I actually like a girl that's a bit of a pervert."

Tomoko stared at him with wide, glistening eyes.

Then threw up again—this time, from nerves. It sure as hell killed the moment, but Tomoko was glad that something did. Because if she would have let that moment go any further, she would have probably ended up kissing him with her disgusting vomitus mouth—and that would be something she could have never recovered from.

Later that night, as Aizaku was leaving, Tomoko expressed her gratitude, and sent him on his way with a spare umbrella. He kissed her on the cheek, and began his walk through the rain, back to his house.

 _What a terrifying day_. Tomoko thought, closing the door.

As she was about to go back to bed, her phone rang. She had a text.

"Hey, Tomo, I forgot my jacket—the pukey one—by the drier. Could I stop by tomorrow and get it?"

"Sure thing," she said.

"Awesome. Don't go down and get it, alright? You're too sick,"

"Oh no, I'll be okay."

"No, no, seriously, Tomo. Stay in bed. It probably smells bad too,"

"Ok,"

"Alright, goodnight then,"

"nite,"

Regardless, Tomoko knew that she had to go and retrieve it for a number of reasons—the primary reason being that if her mom knew a boy was here without her knowing, she could get in a lot of trouble. So Tomoko trudged out of bed and down the stairs. She grabbed the jacket off of the rack by the drier—but then noticed that it had been cleaned.

 _Huh. He said it would be pukey. I wonder why he would say that if it were clean._

The jacket felt heavier than normal too. This aroused Tomoko's suspicion.

Feeling around in the pockets, Tomoko's frail hand touched something unusual.

She pulled it out.

In her hands was a hentai manga—not one of hers.

Tomoko was overwhelmed with a sense of mild jealousy and arousal.

 _So there's a pervert under those glasses, huh? I should've known._

Smiling, Tomoko took the manga upstairs, and read the whole thing.

 _I'm going to embarrass him later for this_. She thought to herself, laughing.

That night, Tomoko slept better than she had slept in a long time.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10.)

"So, you're a pervert, huh?"

Aizaku blushed and scratched the back of his head. "What? That's a weird question to ask randomly,"

Tomoko smiled.

It was a few days after the whole food incident, but it was still raining hard out. The couple hadn't talked since the incident—not until Aizaku invited her to see the fireworks at the beach. Naturally she had agreed—without thinking of the plethora of consequences—in order to please him.

"It should be sunny down at the beach we are going to," Aizaku said.

"Okay," she said.

"The storm is pretty bad here. I'm glad that we're escaping it."

"Yeah…"

When they finally reached the train station, they were both soaked, despite their efforts to stay dry. They boarded the train along with some other young people who obviously had similar ideas to go to where the sun was. Luckily for the couple, two open seats were available.

 _Ding.  
The doors are now shutting. All aboard._

As the train left the station, Tomoko let out a sigh of relief. The train slowly picked up speed, giving Tomoko a sight of the beautiful gray scenery. Lights were fogged and muddled on the rain-pelted glass. A few unfortunate people were making desperate attempts to drive in the terrible weather—but the traffic was mostly at a complete stop.

 _Ha. Suckers._

Tomoko zoned out for a bit, and began to wish she had gone to bed earlier that night. In order to get to the beach early enough, they both had to wake up super early.

 _My eye bags must be really dark right now_. _And I didn't even brush my hair out._

"Are you cold Tomoko?"

"Huh?" she said, snapping into reality.

"You were shivering a bit,"

"Oh…I-I'm fine…" she said with another shiver.

"Here,"

Tomoko's face flared as he put his arm around her, gently pulling her into his chest. She shuddered and her whole body tingled for a second. She could hear his heart.

"Better?" he asked. Tomoko could feel his warm breath on her forehead.

Tomoko didn't respond audibly. She had meant to say "yes", but she only mouthed the words.

' _What the Hell is he doing?!_ ' Tomoko thought, before succumbing to the warmth and lack of sleep. Eventually, she drifted into a twilight sleep, with the gentle sway of the train rocking her slowly.

Slowly, the rain began to let up. Clouds began to disappear, and the sun began poking through in short intervals. Before they knew it, the day looked completely different. There were a few clouds in the sky, but the sun was still bright—and the entire atmosphere shone a healthy golden yellow. Just a few hundred yards from the tracks, the bright yellow sand of the beach was visible.

"This is our stop, Tomo," Aizaku said, rustling her a bit.

"Huh…" Tomoko said, clinging to Aizaku's side. She would have been quite embarrassed to know that she had been drooling all over him for the last 45 minutes.

The train doors opened, and the two walked into a wall of warmth. Aizaku took their coats and put them into his backpack.

"Ah this is so nice, isn't it?" he said. "The water should be really warm, too."

Tomoko nodded.

Shortly after, they reached the beach. The water was a crystal blue-green; the sky, an emerald blue.

"The fireworks don't start until later tonight," he said. "So we have the rest of the day—"

"Mokochi!?"

In near slow motion, Tomoko turned around in response to the oh-so-familiar voice.

 _It can't be_.

"Y-y-Yuu-chan?"

Sure enough, it was Yuu, wearing a skimpy bikini, soaked head to toe in salty sea water.

"Mokochi!" she said, hugging her. Aizaku's eyebrow raised.

 _Oh no. Oh no._

No words could come out of Tomoko's suffocating throat.

"I…er…"

"What are you doing here, Mokochi?"

"I'm…here…uh…"

Aizaku was still silent. She wanted him to speak up—but at the same time she didn't want him to say anything.

"Oh, you must be one of Tomoki's friends. Is Tomoki here too?"

"Uh…yeah!" Tomoko said. "This is Aizaku, one of Tomoki's friends! Tomoki will be here in a little bit. He got caught up in the storm."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Yuu Naruse," Yuu said, holding out her delicate hand. Aizaku blushed and shook.

"Nice to meet you," he said shyly.

"Do you guys want to come over to our part of the beach? We have a cabana over there if you want to come hang with us,"

"Us?" Tomoko asked nervously.

"Yeah! I ran into Komi on the train here—what a coincidence that we're all here at the same time, huh?"

 _The slut is here too!?_

"She'll be excited that Tomoki is here too," Yuu whispered.

"Yeah…"

"Yeah sounds good," Aizaku said suddenly. "But Tomoko and I are going to go get something to drink at the snack bar before we head over, if that's alright?"

"Sure!" Yuu said, her eyes shut. "Meet you guys over there, alright?"

"Alright!"

The two rushed over to the snack bar.

"What was that?!" Aizaku asked quickly.

"I-I-I'm sorry!" she said, realizing the hole she had dug for him. "I didn't know how to react."

"We're in a big mess now," Aizaku sad. "What are we going to do about Tomoki?"

"I…I'll figure it out," Tomoko said, assuring him.

Tomoko pulled out her cell phone.

"What?" Tomoki's voice was obviously agitated.

"Little Brother listen up. I'm in dire straights."

"Oh no, I'm not going to go get another towel—"

"I'll give you 10,000 yen to take the train to the beach, and hang out here for the day,"

The call ended.

Tomoko redialed.

"Tomoki please!" she cried.

"I have a game today in an hour. I'm not helping you,"

Once more, the call ended.

Tomoko went pale.

"He's not coming."

Aizaku put his hand on his face.

"Not good, Tomo, not good."

Tomoko's thought's raced quickly.

"Got it." Tomo said, redialing the phone once more.

"This better be good," Tomoki said.

"I'll give you 20,000 yen to come before nightfall. That way, you don't miss your game, alright?"

She could tell Tomoki was considering.

"If you agree to stay out of my room for a month,"

"Deal! Deal! Just come before nightfall, alright?!"

"Alright," he said.

Tomoko hung up the phone, which was now wet with sweat.

"I think we're good," she said. She could tell that Aizaku was a little bit nervous. In fact, he looked just as nervous as she was. For some reason, seeing that he was nervous too almost comforted her a bit.

"There you guys are," Yuu said, coming up to them. "What took you so long? And where are your drinks?"

Tomoko froze.

"We drank them over at the bar," Aizaku suddenly spoke up. Tomoko looked up at him, and smiled.

"Oh, alright. Oh! Komi, this is Aizaku." She said.

Komi stood up and shook his hand.

"He's a friend of Tomoki,"

Suddenly, Komi's demeanor changed completely from that of formality to that of a nervous wreck.

"Is he here." She said monotonously.

"He'll be here later," Aizaku said, trying to pull his hand from Komi's vice grip.

Komi's eyes went wide.

"Oh, I didn't see you there, slut," Tomoko said, coming up to Komi. "Trying to get into my brother's pants again?"

Komi frowned.

"Don't bother with her, Aizaku," Tomoko said.

"Nice to meet you," Aizaku said, shaking her hand once more.

"Are you guys going to come swim?" Yuu asked.

Tomoko and Aizaku said "no" and "yes" simultaneously.

"Why aren't you going to go, Mokochi?"

"I..erm…I forgot my swimsuit! How clumsy,"

"No you didn't, you're wearing it under your—" Tomoko elbowed Aizaku.

"Okay, well I guess that's just me and Aizaku then?"

Tomoko's heart dropped, and suddenly, she began to seethe with jealousy.

 _That slut is going to be swimming in those waves with my Aizaku?! Alone? Wearing minimal clothing!?_

"Don't worry, Tomo, I'll be back shortly," he whispered to her quickly.

Aizaku took off his shirt and walked towards the beach with Yuu. Passionate jealousy that Tomoko had never seen in herself before suddenly began to surface.  
"WAIT!" she suddenly exclaimed. The whole beach turned and looked at her.

"Mokochi?"

"I-I…" Tomoko panicked. "I want to go after all,"

Tomoko, shaking with anxiety, slowly took off her first layer. Her dark blue one piece swimsuit looked practically black next to her extremely white skin. She was nervous for a variety of reasons—not excluding the fact that this was the first time Aizaku had seen the fullness of her body—and especially not excluding the fact that she was somewhat terrified of the waves.

Tomoko walked over to them on the beach, holding her hands in front of her to cover up as much of herself as she possibly could. Aizaku—if he hadn't been trying to keep the blood from spewing out of his nose—would have noticed that he had never seen her as red as she was.

"What changed your mind?" Yuu asked.

"…I didn't want to stay there with Komi," she said, looking away.

Aizaku smiled at her. She was so cute when she was embarrassed, and he could see right through her. She looked away, but she had a small smile on her face as well.

The waves were quite warm. Tomoko did end up getting crushed by a few big waves—but for the most part, she had a lot of fun. It was like one of those picture-montages in animes, where it showed them splashing each other, laughing, etc.

Before they knew it, night was falling. The sun made the sky red for a short while, then purple, then deep, deep, near-black blue. In the cover of night, Aizaku cuddled up next to Tomoko in the cabana, pulled her chin towards him, and kissed her—right as the first fireworks popped above their heads.

 _I must have died on the train. Nothing else can explain why today was so great._

Aizaku's kiss was salty from the ocean. It tasted so good that Tomoko thought she would cry.

The fireworks continued popping above their heads. Wildly brilliant reds, yellows, greens and blues streamed across the sky.

"Tomoki! You made it!" Yuu said suddenly.

Sure enough, Tomoki had showed up. Komi, who had remained still as a stone for most of the time, stood up abruptly.

"Hi, Tomoki!" she said awkwardly.

"Hey," Tomoki said, ignoring her somewhat.

Komi sat next to him, and for the rest of the night, Tomoko watched Komi fail at trying to get his attention—all to Tomoko's delight.

 _Yep. This night is perfect._

As the fireworks continued, Tomoko felt Yuu-chan coming closer.

"I like your boyfriend, Mokochi,"

"What!?" Tomoko said, trying to play it off. "He's not my—"

"You don't need to worry, Mokochi," she said. "I've never seen you act like you do around him,"

Tomoko blushed.

"He's super cute, Mokochi. He acts a lot like you too,"

"Thanks…"

"I'm glad you've finally found someone, Mokochi," Yuu said, smiling.

"Yeah…" Tomoko said. "…me too,"

The train returned to their home train stop around 12 that night. They were all so tired that they were nearly drunk.

"I had a lot of fun today," Aizaku said, stopped in front of their house. Tomoki walked inside, ignoring them.

"Me too," Tomoko said, sighing.

"I love you," he whispered.

Tomoko stood up and stole a light kiss from him.

"I love you too," she said, just an inch or so away from his face.

Tomoko walked into her room, collapsed on her bed, and was asleep within 10 minutes.

Note to readers:

I'm glad to see that there are people reading! Leave your comments, and I'll keep writing! Feel free to private message me, if you don't want to leave a full comment, or you just want to chat about WataMote (I absolutely love the anime and manga). Thanks for your support!


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11.)

Although Tomoko wished that that Summer could have gone on forever and ever, just playing games and hanging out with her new boyfriend, it was not long before school began to start up once again. Though she dreaded the thought, for once she actually felt like taking on the challenge of the new year.

However, as Tomoko should have learned to guess by now, her plans don't always go accordingly.

"Time to wake up, wake up!" Tomoko's alarm rang. Tomoko glanced over her shoulder from her computer desk.

"I don't remember setting an alarm to go to bed," she whispered to herself. "I had better get cleaned up and hit the hay. Tomorrow's a big day,"

Tomoko shimmied out of her clothing and into a semi-fresh pair of shorts and a raggedy old t-shirt.

"Time to wake up, wake up!" her alarm sounded again.

"Alright, alright," she said, turning off the alarm.

Suddenly, her heart dropped.

"It's 7:15?!" she shrieked. "I was up all night?!"

Tomoko ran over to the window. Sure enough, the sun was out, grimly acknowledging her fears.

"SHIT!"

"Tomoko! It's time to get up! Breakfast is ready in 10." her mother called up the stairs.

"Alright!" she said, her voice cracking. Taking her school uniform off of the hanger, she rushed into the shower, and tried to wake herself up with the hot water.

As the effects of her computer screen began to diminish, she began to feel the exhaustion accumulating. She had no sleep, no caffeine, no time, and to add to it all, the heat of the water made her feel so good. She rested her cheek against the glass of the shower, and felt shivers run up her spine.

 _Maybe if I just lie down for a minute…_

Tomoko curled into a pale, naked ball, and, on the brink of sleep, shot up in a hurry.

"No," she said to herself. "No moe-blob shenanigans this year! I'm a real adult now—and adults can stay awake,"

Tomoko turned on the cold water, and shuddered.

"Invigorating!" she said, obviously hating the feeling.

As Tomoko began to put her uniform on, she could tell something was wrong. The skirt, for one, was far shorter than her old one, which went down below her knees. This skirt came well above her knees, making her look like one of the common sluts at her school. When Tomoko checked the dry-cleaning tag, her suspicions were confirmed.

"Yui Ito," she said aloud. Yui was one of the popular students at her school—a girl just a little bit taller than Tomoko (and a little bit bustier). The dry cleaner had made a mistake in their uniforms.

Tomoko couldn't even look in the mirror. The shock of seeing her own body in the uniform of a slut was enough to both frighten her and turn her on—and she had no time for a panic attack/masturbation.

"MOM!" she called out from behind the bathroom door.

"What is it?"

"Do we have my extra uniform?" Tomoko asked, not really desiring an answer.

"Not yet sweetie," she responded. "It's still at the dry-cleaners."

 _Shit._

Embracing her doomed fate, Tomoko looked in the mirror.

"It looks like today is going to be terrible," she said, tears in her exhausted eyes. "I had such high hopes too,"

By the time she had made it downstairs, she could barely eat. She was hungry, but nearly every time she picked up some food, she lost focus—either from exhaustion or embarrassment—and set it back down.

"Are you alright, Tomoko?" her mother asked.

"Mhmm…" Tomoko said, her eyes half-mast.

"Eat up, then. You have a big day today,"

Tomoko nodded, using all of her energy to take a sad, pitiful bite of rice.

 _Humans should not live like this_. She thought to herself.

"You don't really have a lot of time now, Tomoko," her mother said.

Sure enough, it was already nearly 8. Tomoko put a piece of toast in her mouth, and ran out the door with her things.

 _Okay, I know I said no more moe-blob shenanigans. But this toast-in-mouth trope is the last one. After this I'm a real adult._

To avoid getting her hair all over her face, she tied it back into a ponytail, and, acknowledging that fate had it in for her, ran as fast as she could.

When she finally arrived at school, she was a tiny bit late. Everyone was just taking their seats, when suddenly, Tomoko burst through the door, blushing from the run and the embarrassment. Her hair pulled back, her face red, and her skirt slightly higher than usual, a few of the boys in her class suddenly took notice of her.

"Is that Kuroki?" one whispered.

"Who's Kuroki?"

"You know, that weirdo who never talks,"  
"Wait, that's her!? She looks so different with her hair pulled back,"

Suddenly, the teacher spoke up.

"You're late, Miss…."

"Kuroki, sir."

Tomoko, who had now reached the front of the class, bowed deeply, apologizing—unaware of a simple equation: short skirt + bowing = panty shot. Several of the boys giggled as they saw her cheap, pink, 99c store value panties—but a few, though they wouldn't admit it, were somewhat intrigued.

"Just don't be late again, Kuroki,"

"Yes sir," she said, blushing.

"You can sit in the front, far right, Kuroki," the teacher pointed a seat to her.

Tomoko looked around for Aizaku. He was nowhere in sight. Come to think of it, she didn't even know if they were in the same class.

As the teacher took attendance, Tomoko waited for Aizaku's name.

"Ito, Yui?"

No response.

"No? Ito?"

"H….here…" a weak voice called out.

Sitting in the back, wearing a skirt down to her ankles, was poor Yui Ito.

 _She's wearing my skirt! So she didn't have a backup either?_

"You're here, Ito?"

The whole room looked towards her, and she about melted in fear.

"Yes!" she said, as bravely as she could. Her face was red.

"Alright, Ito is present."

Tomoko didn't remember anything that happened after that—she had fallen asleep. But as soon as break began, Yui came over to her and nudged her gently.

"Kuroki?" she said softly. "Please wake up,"

"Whu?" Tomoko said, drool dripping from her mouth.

"I…I think our uniforms were switched…"

Tomoko nodded, barely understanding.

"When do you want to switch back?" Tomoko asked.

"Maybe after school today?"

"Yeah sure," Tomoko said, putting her head back down. She wasn't trying to be rude—she was actually exhausted beyond belief.

Yui went back to her group, still embarrassed.

"So what'd she say?" one of her boy friends asked.

"She said she's not interested in going out with any of you guys,"

"She said that?!" the whole group seemed to ask simultaneously.

"Yep. Plain and simple."

"Just 'No'?"

"Yep. She said she can do better," Yui continued to lie.

"Really!?" All of them glared at the sleeping Tomoko—some with indignation, some with jealous resentment.

"Maybe I couild go talk to her—"

"No," Yui demanded. "She's toxic,"

"Sheesh really?"

"Total bitch," Yui said. "I'm regretting that I have to even talk to her later."

Tomoko stirred a bit, and rolled over so that her head faced the ceiling. They could see her face, and a thin line of drool across her cheek. She snored somewhat loudly from the strange position she was in.

"She's still pretty cute though," one said.

"Yeah. When she pulls her hair back she's actually not half bad."

Yui, still desperately desiring positive attention, attempted to pull them back in.  
"I'm free this Saturday if you guys want—"

But it was too late. She watched in horror as one of the boys—a tall, thin one named Yamato—walked over to her, and tapped her shoulder. Tomoko didn't move, so he nudged her. Again, no movement. He took her by the shoulder and shook her a bit—to which Tomoko responded violently, waking up in a flurry, yelling "NOT MY EYES! GET THEM AWAY FROM MY EYES!". The boy shot back in fear. The whole class suddenly began to laugh.

Tomoko put her head down in shame. She had been having that dream again—about the beetles and the bugs in the grass eating her face.

"Um…." Yamoto said, fearing her 'toxicity'. "Are you alright?"

"Y…yes…" she said, rubbing her eyes.

"I was just wondering... if maybe you'd like to come hang out some time,"

"Yeah, sure," Tomoko said, lying her head down again. She was not fully aware of what she was agreeing to. In her half-dream state, she imagined that she was merely playing an eroge or dating sim.

"How about Karaoke, just the two of us? Tomorrow evening?"

"Mhmm…."

"I mean, I really think you're a cool girl," he said.

"Cool giirrirl," Tomoko repeated.

"Exactly…" he said. "So you're down to come on a date with me?"

"Yeah, sure," she said, putting her head back down.

"Alright!" Yamato said.

When he triumphantly returned, his friends hi-fived him, and patted him.

"Man Kuroki's really mysterious," he said. "…she's super intriguing."

"What'd she say?"

"She said she'd go…" Yamato said. "Alone with me in a Karaoke room."

"You're lucky man—but don't count me out as competition!" one of Yamato's friends joked.

"She seemed like she was interested," Yamato said.

"She'd be lucky to have you,"

As the conversation continued, Aizaku, who was seated right behind the conversation, heavesdropped, a book covering his face. He hadn't seen how Tomoko had responded—otherwise he would have seen that everything she had said was not in her right mind. He had only heard that Tomoko had agreed to go on a date with one of the most popular guys at school—and that she had flashed the whole class her panties.

He honestly wanted to be angry at Tomoko. He wanted to make her feel bad. But he knew he loved her too much to do that.

Rather, he was filled with a deep, stinging sadness that penetrated his whole being.

"My….my Tomo?"

Note to Readers:

-Tell me what you think!


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12.)

It was a breezy morning; the sun was barely peeking through the clouds, illuminating the brown and red leaves as they gently scraped along the concrete sidewalks. It was a Friday—the last day of the long week. Tomoko, a bit weary from staying up too late the night before, stared out of the window of the classroom. It was gloomy out, as though rain would soon fall.

 _Maybe tonight I can finally get some sleep. The rain will be really nice to fall asleep to._

"And as I was saying, the Europeans would rise up against the Caliphate in vain. It wouldn't be until the Mongols, led by infamous Hulago Khan, came in that the Caliphate would see its end. Khan actually tied the last of the Caliphs up in a carpet, and had him stomped to death by his own horses…"

 _This is so freaking boring._

Tomoko reached for her phone and held it under the table. The forecast showed rain for a few days.

 _Sweet._

 _Oh… one new message_. _From Aizaku_

'Tomo, we need to talk,' the message read

 _Huh?_

"What do you mean?" she replied.

Suddenly, she heard Aizaku's phone go off. She had found out on Thursday that he was actually in her class, which was a relief—though they couldn't communicate via notes anymore, unfortunately. No reply came back.

"…he and his riders were a nefarious bunch… Mongols were well known for giving cities a chance to surrender—and if refused, slaughtered everyone inside the city…" the instructor went on.

 _Did I do something? Is he mad at me?_

The bell rang, and first period was over.

"Alright, everyone, make sure to write me that report on the Siege of Baghdad by the end of next week. Have a good weekend—stay safe!"

Tomoko packed up her things, and looked over to Aizaku's desk—but he was already gone.

"huh…"

When lunch came around, Tomoko pulled out her phone to try to get a hold of him. He wasn't at their usual spot, after all, which was highly unusual.

"Hey, Tomoko!"

Tomoko froze in response to the unknown voice. An arm wrapped around her shoulders, making her squeal and drop everything she was holding.

"Oh, sorry!" Yamato said, picking her things up for her.

Tomoko remained frozen.

"How are you today, Tomoko?" he asked, handing her her books and lunch.

"F…..f….i..n..e…" she said, barely audibly. She dropped her books again.

"Jeez you're a clutz today, huh?" he said, once more retrieving her items.

"I….I….I'm Tomok—"

"I just wanted to follow up—we had planned for Tuesday, but I never got your number. Are you free tomorrow?" he said, taking his phone out.

"I….I…."

"Here, put your number in,"

Tomoko dropped his phone. People all over the courtyard stared at her.

"Are your hands cold or something?" he said, holding her hand. "We're still going on our date, right?"

 _What is this popular boy talking to me for? Date?! What is he talking about?!_

Suddenly, without warning, Tomoko began to feel light headed. She had no clue what was going on. She felt so disoriented, so embarrassed. She fell backwards, and Yamato's worried face became more distant and distant. Yet suddenly, she was caught by something.

Something held her from falling—someone.

"Tomo, it's okay, I've got you."

 _It was Aizaku._

Aizaku lied her down, and she was just barely conscious enough to see what was going on.

"Listen, you son of a bitch, it's not right to mess with her like that—she's a sensitive girl! Don't you understand that?"

Tomoko had never heard Aizaku speak like he was. Such anger, such emotion—she had always thought him to be a robot. But to hear him speak like he was some angry anime character—especially in such a delirious state—was enough to make Tomoko feel tingles.

"Who are you supposed to be, then?" Yamato came back, angrily.

A crowd was gathering.

"I would as you the same question,"

"You talk big for a nerd with no athleticism,"

"Try me," Aizaku snapped, fury in his eyes, and a passionate smile on his lips.

Yui suddenly broke in, and pressed back against Yamato, keeping him from a physical fight.

"Don't, Yamato, please," she said, pushing him back.

Tomoko was regaining consciousness, but still couldn't believe her eyes.

"I can take him, Yui," he said. "He thinks he can come in and swoop in on my girl—"

"Your girl!" Aizaku scoffed. "Tomoko would never stoop so low."

"Bastard!"

Tomoko stood up to her feet, and both of them looked at her—instantly more concerned over her than each other.

"Tomo…" Aizaku said.

"Kuroki…" Yamato said.

Tears welled up in Tomoko's eyes.

"I….I'm sorry…" she said, starting to cry. "I didn't mean to…"

"Tomo…" Aizaku said, coming to her. She pushed him away, and, losing her balance, tripped back onto the ground. She curled up into a ball and began to cry uncontrollably.

"Just go away!" she cried desperately. "Both of you!"

Aizaku, obviously hurt, looked at Yamato, who was still a bit angry, but hurt nevertheless.

"Tomoko," Aizaku said, kneeling down to her.

"Get away!" she said—this time, so desperately and so weak, that Aizaku's heart was pained.

Aizaku realized that maybe she did need time—but he also recognized that to leave her in the middle of the courtyard would be practically inhumane.

"Tomoko…" he said, petting her hair. "If you want to be with him, I understand…"

Tomoko was at a loss for words.

"…I just want you to be happy…" Aizaku said, sniffing a bit.

"…stop…" she said.

"Don't feel pressured to choose so suddenly…" he said. "I understand—"

"Stop!" she said.

Tomoko stood up suddenly, and ran as fast as she could.

No thoughts ran through her head as she sprinted in her dirt-stained, yellow school uniform. For several miles, Tomoko ran. The soreness of her legs and the itchiness of her lungs eventually slowed her—but she did all she could to make it home.

When she got home, she slammed the door of her room shut, and began to cry more. She was not feeling sorry for herself—she merely had no clue what was going on. She didn't remember the sleepless dazed conversation she had had with Yamato—nor why Aizaku could have been mad at her or thought she wanted to break up with him.

She was devastatingly confused.

Hours passed. Tomoko had fallen asleep right after she had cried, and was in no mood to talk. She had tried watching videos, playing games, and reading posts on her computer—but nothing could get her out of reality. Now and again, she would cry—not because of anything in particular, but because of everything. No one heard her cry—her whole family had gone out early that morning to a short family reunion in Tokyo for the weekend.

She was alone—which was actually pretty nice.

 _Well. I guess….it's gonna be just me from now on. Back to lonely old me…. Aizaku's going to break up with me any minute now, and it'll be just me… all alone…_

When she had calmed down a bit, and was beginning to feel a bit hungry, she went downstairs to grab some food.

Suddenly, to her dismay, the door knocked.

She ignored it.

The door knocked again—this time as she was trying to make it up the stairs. Through the door window, she made eye contact with Aizaku. She was caught, and was forced to open the door to him. When she did, however, she made no eye contact with him, and had her hand on the door, ready to slam it on him.

"You dropped your phone on your way out," he said, handing her her phone.

"Thanks…" she said.

"Do you mind if I come in? I'd like to talk, if that's alright. Yamato and I just cleared things up, and we figured that you weren't really in your right mind when you said yes to his date proposal."

"I never said anything to him…."

"Apparently you did," Aizaku said, stepping inside.

"If I ask you to leave, you better do it immediately, okay?"

"I promise," he said.

Tomoko and Aizaku went to her room to talk, merely because it was the only room that was heated now that the family was gone. Outside, rain pelted the windows and roof.

"So, Tomoko. Are you alright?"

"Yeah…"

"Did you remember saying yes to him?"  
"Not at all. I barely even know him! I promise!" she pleaded, suddenly getting emotional.

"Don't get all worked up," he said, petting her hair. "I'm not here to break up with you—I just want some answers,"

"You're not here to break up with me?"

"Why would I do that?"

"Because I'm a freak, and I don't really have much to offer, and I somehow agree to go on dates in my sleep or something…"

"Tomo…" Aizaku said, pushing her bangs out of her tearing up eyes.

"You don't have to pretend to like me," she said pahetically. "I know you could do better, and that most of this is probably just a sham…"

"I really do love you," he said firmly.

"Do you really love me?"

"More than I can tell you,"

He leaned in to kiss her, but she turned away.

A few moments passed.

Suddenly, Aizaku looked at her softly. She blushed and turned away even further.

"Don't look at me like that," she said.

"Like what?"

"Like…all lustfully,"

"What do you mean?"

"Nevermind," she said, standing up, and walking towards the door.

"Are we okay?"

"We're fine," she said, smiling.

"Then why did you turn away when I tried to kiss you right then?"

Tomoko blushed.

"No reason,"

"Then come kiss me and make up," he said, wrapping his arms around her midsection.

"NO!" she yelled, pushing away from him.

"See? Something's up," he said. "Are you still mad?"

"No…"

"Then what is it?" he said, throwing up his arms. "I can't just guess,'

"It's…personal…"

Aizaku suddenly blushed.

"Was it like…too…sexy?"

"Yeah…" she said. "Especially so near the…bed…"

"Right,"

A few awkward moments passed.

"I mean, I wouldn't ever want to do that to you—" he said, laughing.

"Really?" Tomoko seemed hurt.

"I mean! Wait! I really want to do that with you!"

Tomoko frowned.

"WHEN THE TIME COMES!" he suddenly spurted out.

"Okay,"

"OKAY?!"

"Okay," Tomoko said.

"Then come kiss me,"

"Okay," she said.

She leaned up against him, and their lips met. Tingles and shivers ran down Tomoko's spine.

She hugged him a bit closer, and kissed him a bit harder. She broke off from him suddenly, and smiled, making eye contact with him.

Tomoko watched as his eyes became half-mast. She felt her eyes do the same.

 _This reminds me of a clichéd scene from an Eroge. Like where a kiss gets out of hand and they end up fucking each other's brains out._

"Tomoko," he said, moving his hand down her back.

She blushed.

 _It's actually exactly like one of those scenes. My parents aren't home, it's pouring rain outside, and he's going to touch my butt—_

Aizaku's hand gently caressed her lower backside.

 _Oh shit that feels so good._

"I know it's improper to cop a feel…" he whispered into her ear.

 _Very improper._ she thought.

"…but I just couldn't resist,"

Tomoko felt his mouth against her cheek. It was so warm, so wet. She got a good whiff of him, which practically sent her through the roof.

"I should be going," he said, breaking away from her.

"Right," she said, blushing. If he had so much as put his other hand where the other one was, she didn't know if she could've controlled herself. She would have become putty in his hands, and catered to every one of his whims and fantasies.

As Aizaku walked away, she smiled at him, and waved. She was so horrendously turned on that the first thing she did was head to the bathroom for a long "shower".

Naked, warm, and tired beyond belief, Tomoko fell asleep immediately after.


End file.
